Charles Eugene "Chip" Roy is an American attorney and conservative politician serving as the U.S. representative for Texas' 21st congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, Roy took office on January 3, 2019. Before his election to Congress, he served as chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz and as First Assistant Attorney General of Texas.
In 2018, Roy ran for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 21st congressional district to succeed Lamar Smith, who did not run for reelection. Covering his campaign, Politico likened him to Cruz. Roy finished first in an 18-candidate field and received Smith's endorsement in a runoff on May 22 against Matt McCall. Roy said he agreed with Smith in questioning the scientific consensus on climate change which clearly attributes it to human activity.
When he supported Cruz in the 2016 presidential primary, Roy's criticism of Trump caused some of his friends to describe him as committed to the "Never Trump" cause. By 2018, his position had changed. Roy praised Trump's job performance as president, citing his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accords and his results in "regulatory relief, on tax relief, on judges, on the embassy in Jerusalem" and his attacks on "the swamp or the establishment or the status quo or whatever you want to call the inner workings of Washington, D.C." Roy also echoed Trump's position about a "deep state", which he defined as "entrenched bureaucrat who hide something from the political decision-makers" causing "pushback from deep within the bowels of each of the agencies." He called for federal agencies "to be thinned out so that we don't have those issues."
Roy promised if elected to push back against the status quo and restrict the federal government's power, calling for Medicare to be delegated to the states, for Congress to pass a balanced budget, and for action to be taken to prevent judges from "legislating from the bench". He suggested that the House should attempt to pass no legislation the next term until it advanced a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. He also held that there were threats from "porous borders, gangs and drug cartels" that he would address if elected. The Club for Growth supported his candidacy. The House Freedom Fund (aligned with the Freedom Caucus in the House) contributed $143,000 to Roy's campaign. By February, Cruz joined in campaigning for Roy, telling voters, "I know how he responds under pressure, under heat, and that he won't buckle."
Roy finished 10 points ahead of McCall in the Republican primary election. He beat McCall by 5% in the "top-two" runoff. McCall credited much of Roy's victory to Cruz's endorsement and efforts. McCall said that Cruz was able to convince others to endorse Roy, even Louie Gohmert, whom McCall hailed as his congressional role model. Roy defeated Democratic nominee Joseph Kopser, a businessman, aerospace engineer and veteran, in the general election, 50%–48%, a closer than expected margin.
